


Lost

by Owlvis



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Gen, M/M, Medication, Minor Injuries, Platonic Kissing, lapslock
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:40:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23326411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Owlvis/pseuds/Owlvis
Summary: What do you do when you lose your leader? You don't panic.
Relationships: Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung & Lee Taeyong
Comments: 16
Kudos: 41





	Lost

**Author's Note:**

> ahhhh ok ok my second fic  
> here we go ~  
> let me know if i've tagged anything wrong

"wait," taeyong mumbles to the room. "...'ricano."

doyoung looks up from his book in surprise; taeyong's been asleep in one of the two single beds in their shared hotel room for the better part of an hour, dosed up to his eyeballs with a pain killer the doctor had administered after he'd twisted his knee during their smtown live show.

it's supposed to be strong enough to down a horse. doyoung has no idea how taeyong is awake past midnight and after a show; he'd practically collapsed on the spot before the doctor had even removed the needle from his ass. doyoung knows because he'd been there, and been the unlucky idol to half carry half drag their leader to the bed.

johnny, the actual horse who could've easily helped, had just laughed.

doyoung puts his book down and gets up to investigate. taeyong hasn't moved but if he's talking in his sleep doyoung wants a front row seat.

he tiptoes over, trying to be considerate.

"mmhhmmhm," taeyong says eloquently like the rapper he is, and just as doyoung leans over him to take a peek, taeyong's eyes snap open and stare at him. through him. unblinkingly.

“that’s probably not normal,” doyoung muses after a bit, and goes back to his own bed to grab his phone and google the side effects of the medication. he opens the webmd on that particular brand but can't find anything about demonic possessions. should he call the doctor?

he glances up to check on taeyong and drops his phone in surprise; the bed is empty. he leaps up and does a quick spin but the modest room is empty too. "hyung?" he yells, running for the door. he all but rips it open in a panic and checks the hallway, left and right, but it's completely clear. "taeyong-hyung?" he yells again, a bit louder. there's no reply and he slumps against the open door.

"what's going on?" yuta suddenly appears around the doorway and doyoung jumps in shock.

"how did you-?" he starts then stops; there's more important things to worry about than yuta appearing out of thin air. 

he straightens up and points a finger uselessly in the air. "taeyong-hyung is …missing? but don't panic because--"

haechan appears at yuta's elbow, eyes big and mouth even bigger when he cries, "taeyong-hyung is missing?! HYUNG!" into the universe.

doyoung flinches. "why are you awake?" he demands, and flinches again when yuta gives him an unimpressed stare. "It's really late," he mutters apologetically. "and we don't need to panic. he can't be far; he was here a moment ago. help me find him?"

they both agree and he grabs his keycard before following them down the hallway towards the elevator. it tells them it's coming up from the lobby.

"that's where he must be," haechan says, and yuta ruffles his hair.

"maybe he wanted some ice for his knee," yuta agrees.

doyoung opens his mouth to comment but the elevator doors ding and start to open.

they move as a team to step into it at the same time jungwoo steps out. they nearly collide.

"excuse me," he chirps before noticeably lighting up at the sight of them. "hey! where are you guys going?" he's got a bucket of ice cradled between his hands.

before doyoung can make up an excuse to avoid a search party, yuta says, "yongie-hyung's gone down to the lobby for some ice, and we're going to see if he needs help getting back to his room."

jungwoo frowns. "i just came from there though, and he wasn't there, hyung." he rattles his bucket as proof. "and this is the only elevator that works this late at night."

doyoung presses them all into the elevator, backing a protesting jungwoo into it. there's no time to waste. they stare at the choice of floors, none of the buttons giving them any clues.

"would he go to the roof?" doyoung wonders, glancing at yuta.

"um," yuta says. "i can't see why he would, but we'd better check just in case."

haechan pushes the button for the roof and the doors close soundlessly. "taeyong-hyung is full of surprises. what if he's writing another song, and wanted the fresh air to inspire him?"

"you think so?" doyoung asks. taeyong can be spontaneously eccentric; it wouldn't be the weirdest thing he's done since their debut. he doesn't want to alarm his members but he can't help but remind them, "the doctor told us he'd sleep for many hours. he isn't even supposed to be awake, never mind exploring the roof. and i think it's raining." 

"do we need to tell the others?" jungwoo asks, frowning down at his ice. it's already beginning to melt, and his hands are starting to hurt from the cold. "maybe a manager?"

the elevator comes to a stop and the doors open onto a landing, a few stairs leading up to a door marked EXIT. they shuffle out slowly; the small stairwell is scarily dark, the obviously old lightbulb above them struggling to fill the corners with light. doyoung thinks it's a bit of a hazard.

"let's check the roof first," yuta says, nudging doyoung to the front of their little group. "if we tell a manager and then find him, we'd have worried them for nothing."

"and we don't want to get hyung into trouble," haechan says.

doyoung leads them up the few steps and presses on the door, but it's locked tight. there's no handle to turn, and the keyhole is dusty and clearly hasn't been used in years. 

"ya ya ya," jungwoo says loudly into his ear, leaning across and pushing on the door too, his ice rattling against the sides of the bucket. "what if he's locked out?"

haechan pushes his way to the front and lifts his cellphone to the keyhole, torch on. "i think...taeyong-hyung is not on the roof, hyung."

"oh," jungwoo says, and the four of them eye each other in concern. "then where is he?"

"let's go back to our floor," doyoung says, turning them around and ushering them into the elevator. thank god this didn't close and leave us here, he thinks as he presses the button for their floor. the doors close, and the dark stairwell thankfully disappears.

"should we split up?" haechan asks.

"would he go outside in the rain?" yuta asks. "did he say anything?" he turns to jungwoo. "are you sure you didn't see him in the lobby?" he's starting to sound worried, and doyoung can't deny that he feels his own chest tighten at the implication that they've lost their drugged and injured leader.

jungwoo nods, "i'm positive, hyung. the ice machine is right by the elevator. if he'd come down that way i'd have seen him."

the elevator slides to a stop again, this time spitting them out back onto their floor. it's still deserted, although doyoung had been secretly hoping they'd find taeyong waiting for them.

"the hotel isn't very big," he says. he eyes the many doors lining the hallway where hopefully everyone else is sleeping safely. "he could be in any one of these rooms, really."

yuta pulls his own phone out. "i can ask the group chat if he's with anyone."

"try to be vague about it," doyoung suggests. "if he's not in any of the rooms we don't want anyone to worry."

"shouldn't we worry, though?" haechan asks, gripping his own phone tightly. "hyung is missing." jungwoo wraps an arm around him and he eeps when his icy hand touches his arm.

yuta presses send, and their phones all ding with a new group notification. "i just said 'if taeyong-hyung is with you please send him back to his room'. that should make it sound like we know he's with someone, we just don't know who."

jungwoo hugs the bucket of ice to his chest, eyes suddenly round. "what if he's been kidnapped?"

"who's been kidnapped?"

they all shriek in surprise and spin around to find taeyong standing in the hallway with them.  
he's wide awake, standing upright and sipping idly on an iced americano he got from god knows where.

"hyung!" haechan grabs him around the waist and clings happily, obviously relieved. taeyong wraps his free arm around him and hugs him back, smiling wide around his straw.

"what the fu-uhhh..." yuta interrupts himself with a cough. "hyung?"

"taeyong-hyung," doyoung starts, but haechan pulls back with a frown and looks at them in concern.

"he's wet," he tells them, patting at taeyong's chest tellingly. jungwoo hands yuta his ice bucket before wrapping both arms around their leader, who just stands there and accepts the hug. he sips noisily on his coffee.

doyoung touches taeyong's shoulder and feels the dampness on his tshirt. when he looks closer, he sees taeyong's sleeping shorts are also damp, and he's barefoot. taeyong blinks at him for a moment, before spitting his straw out and smiling at him.

"doie," he says fondly.

"hyung," he smiles back, feeling an immense relief battling with confusion. "let's go back to our room, and change into something dry." he grabs taeyong's hand and tugs him towards their door, jungwoo and haechan still clinging to him and shuffling with them. yuta follows, nonplussed.

"this is very weird," yuta says once they're back behind doors, putting the ice bucket down on the table and falling onto doyoung's bed with jungwoo and haechan, while doyoung finds dry clothes for taeyong to wear. 

"where was he, and where did he come from? we were standing by the elevator the whole time."

taeyong stands in the middle of the room, quiet but still very much awake. he lets doyoung toss the last sip of his coffee, undress him, pat him dry with a towel and manhandle him into a dry shirt and shorts without a word. doyoung takes extra care to not jostle his knee; it's red and swollen.

it's only when doyoung tries to put a hoodie on him that he speaks up.

"are we going somewhere?" he asks, threading his arms into the sleeves and ducking his head when doyoung tugs the hoodie onto him. his hair is in disarray when they're done, and jungwoo coos.

yuta laughs. "just to bed, i hope."

"i guess he was in the lobby," jungwoo pouts.

"or he was in the elevator the whole time?" haechan offers.

"someone gave me coffee," taeyong announces, sitting on his own bed at doyoung's urging. his hands immediately pull doyoung down with him; doyoung flails a bit, not wanting to accidentally bump taeyong's knee.

he stills when he processes the words. "someone? who?"

taeyong shrugs, wrapping one long arm around doyoung's shoulders with a frown. "sit by me," he insists, eyes big and round.

doyoung visibly softens, and settles on the bed, pressing their sides together. taeyong hums, grabs his hand and threads their fingers together. yuta, jungwoo and haechan clear their throats, and doyoung sticks his tongue out at them.

"but seriously," yuta reminds them, "who gave you coffee in the middle of the night, hyung?"

"the lady who works at the starbucks across the road. i think...she thought i was homeless."

"honestly," doyoung huffs. "we were worried about you. why did you suddenly need coffee at this time of night? and you're not supposed to be walking on that leg." he pokes taeyong's thigh, and taeyong blinks down at his inflamed knee as though he's never seen it before.

jungwoo sits up, catching their attention. "how did you get to the starbucks, hyung? i was in the lobby and never saw you."

"i saw you," he tells them. "in the lobby. you were asking the receptionist for a bucket." he grins. "she was flirting with you."

jungwoo blushes and covers his face with his hands, whining.

"oh my god," haechan mutters, poking him in the side. "i can't believe you."

"what a stud," yuta teases, and taeyong giggles. they go quiet and let themselves relax; their leader is safe and sound.

taeyong suddenly yawns behind a sweater paw, and yuta gets up off the bed, tugging two wayward children with him. "we should get back to our rooms."

doyoung goes to stand too, but taeyong slumps against him with a loud snore that everyone is sure he's only half faking. the medication must be kicking in again.

"goodnight," doyoung tells them. "please get some sleep, and please don't tell anyone we lost taeyong."

jungwoo snorts, grabbing what's left of his bucket of ice. "we didn't lose him, you did."

"i'm right here," taeyong pouts. "i'm not lost. coffee?"

"no more coffee, hyung," yuta tells him, kissing him on the forehead. haechan and jungwoo kiss him each on a cheek, and they leave the room, the door closing with a soft click behind them.

taeyong hums, pleased. "i love my members," he tells doyoung, who gently pushes him to lie back on the bed. he helps taeyong straighten out, hands gentle but confident as he maneuvers him under the duvet.

"they love you too," he assures him. taeyong hums again, eyes closing once he's comfortably tucked in. doyoung stands over him for a moment, watching him. eventually taeyong relaxes, pulled into sleep by the medication and his impromptu walk in the rain. 

hopefully there are no more sudden coffee runs tonight.

doyoung turns to go back to his own bed, but he hesitates. taeyong looks soft; hair fluffy, duvet thick like a cloud around his shoulders, mouth slack in sleep. doyoung's heart swells with a sudden overwhelming feeling of affection.

he can't help but lean down and place a soft kiss on taeyong's forehead, then his scar. he presses another kiss to his scar, for the road he tells himself.

"i won't lose you again," he promises. "and as long as i'm around, you'll never be lost. goodnight hyung. i love you."

he climbs into his own bed, lays down with his eyes on taeyong. it's been a short but hectic night and he soon feels himself slip into a light sleep.

"...coffee?"

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much reading <3


End file.
